Eagles-Jaguars: Five takeaways from the preseason victory

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Five takeaways from the Eagles’ second preseason game, against the Jacksonville Jaguars:

The Eagles opted not to sign another quarterback last week after Nate Sudfeld broke his left wrist against Tennessee. Now, they pretty much have no choice. Cody Kessler suffered a concussion Thursday night less than three minutes into the first quarter on a vicious blindside shot by Jaguars defensive end Datone Jones.

Even if he manages to clear concussion protocol in time for next week’s game against Baltimore, there seems little chance Doug Pederson would play him. With Sudfeld expected to miss the first two or three regular-season games, Pederson needs Kessler healthy for Week 1. The last thing he wants to do is risk having him suffer another concussion.

Since the Eagles also are reluctant to play starter Carson Wentz much, if at all, in the preseason, they’re going to need to bring in another quarterback to back up rookie Clayton Thorson.

The third time might be the charm for wide receiver Greg Ward Jr., who has failed to make the Eagles out of training camp the last two years.

Ward has had an impressive training camp, catching everything thrown to him and showing the coaches he can play all three wide receiver positions. Against the Jaguars, he caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Thorson in the second quarter. Ward beat safety C.J. Reavis badly, but Thorson’s throw was short. Ward came back for it, then cut to the middle and evaded several tacklers on his way to the end zone.

It’s still too early to know whether the Eagles will keep five or six wide receivers. The first four spots will go to Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Nelson Agholor, and second-round rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. At one point, Mack Hollins seemed a good bet to be the fifth wideout, if only because of his special-teams prowess. That still may be the case. But Ward played on several special-teams units Thursday night.

His background as a college quarterback also makes him intriguing. He threw an unsuccessful option pass to wide receiver Carlton Agudosi against the Jaguars.

Daeshon Hall had a productive game, collecting two second-quarter sacks of backup quarterback Gardner Minshew. He forced a fumble on the first one, which was recovered by linebacker Nate Gerry. He later decked Minshew on a first-down play at the Philadelphia 10 which helped kill a potential touchdown drive and forced the Jags to settle for a Josh Lambo field goal.

Hall, who was a third-round pick by Carolina in the 2017 draft, also had a careless neutral-zone penalty right after the second sack, which angered defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. He’s in a neck-and-neck battle with 2018 fourth-round pick Josh Sweat for the fourth spot in the Eagles’ defensive end rotation. He got bigger and stronger in the offseason after the Eagles signed him last December, and has had a very good training camp.

We still don’t know whether the Eagles will keep four or five running backs. They probably aren’t sure themselves. Miles Sanders, Jordan Howard, and Darren Sproles all are roster locks. After that, it’s a little fuzzy.

Corey Clement is coming off a knee injury. He is practicing but hasn’t played in the first two preseason games. If he’s healthy and they keep only four, he’s probably the fourth guy. Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams are battling for the fifth spot, if there is one. Adams, who led the team in rushing last season as an undrafted rookie, has a higher ceiling. He’s bigger and a more powerful runner than Smallwood, as he showed on a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against the Jags. But Smallwood is a better receiver and can contribute on special teams.

While you can argue that he had nowhere to go but up after last week’s dreadful 2-for-9, 7-yard, one-interception passing performance against the Titans, rookie Clayton Thorson played much better against Jacksonville. Thorson probably will spend most, if not all, of his rookie season on the practice squad.

It’s possible Sudfeld’s injury could prompt the Eagles to carry him on the 53-man roster for a couple of weeks as the No. 3 quarterback behind Wentz and Kessler until Sudfeld returns. But unless they’re worried about someone else signing him, which seems very unlikely, they probably will prefer to save a roster spot and have him serve as the season-opening third quarterback from the practice squad.